Buying ice cream? Check wrapper for its mfg date

Patna: Ice cream is a must for many during summers. However, the state health department’s food safety wing has cautioned people to carefully look for details on the wrapper before having the ice cream.

The warning followed a raid by food safety officials on the Golden Dairy Pvt Limited in Pataliputra industrial area on Tuesday. The officials stumbled on wrappers that did not mention the manufacturing date.

At least 5,000 and odd pieces of Golden ice cream, including bricks and bars, had the manufacturing month and year, but not the date, on their wrappers.

While directing the manufacturers to mention the date on wrappers, the team collected samples of some raw materials, including sugar and emulsifying agents. "We have sent the samples for tests to a Kolkata lab," an official said.

The food ‘cops’ also raided Buddha Heritage Hotel in Pataliputra Colony and collected samples of sweet corn and refined oil for lab tests. "We also collected samples of bread as the hotel manufactures breads for consumption by its guests," the official said and added these samples would also be sent for lab tests to check the presence of potassium bromate and potassium iodate.

A Centre for Science and Environment study recently said the presence of these chemicals in breads could cause cancer. The team found the drain in the hotel’s kitchen "extremely dirty". The litchi squash kept in the hotel had expired 10 days back, the official said.